Cockatiels are evil, evil bastards

[platedlizard]

As you can see from my earlier entry I'm a bit down and out today. Well, more then a bit, actually. So I haven't been paying as much attention to my birds as normal, and have been letting them roam wild in the birdroom. Well, today while feeding them Baby, the one I handraised, was being a complete asshole to his dad and the other tiels, but mostly to his dad. He was jumping on CJ's back and biting at his neck, and chasing the other tiels around (but leaving the parakeet and conure along, I suspect he knew that if he bothered them they would kick his ass).

This sort of bullying, usually directed at CJ, is has been ongoing. I've been thinking about seperating him, but that would mean keeping him completely seperate as he bullies outside the cage, as well (probably in another room), and then I would have to deal with the screaming. Another option would be to find him a new home, but I don't really want to do that. I raised him after all, and it isn't as if they've had injuries.

Today he got a short time out in the conure's cage, which seemed to mellow him out. I don't really know what else to do.

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Update

[platedlizard.livejournal.com]

Baby went home with a coworker just before X-mas. Her mother had a female cockatiel she wanted to breed, and since I figure that Baby wants to breed, and was getting frusterated by the other 'tiels lack of interest in mating with him (all four are males, and the two he was really targeting were related to him) his sexual frusteration was turning into aggression. The house is much quiter since he left, no more frantic screams coming from the bird room, and the other tiels are much more relaxed. I hated to do it, but Baby had been a problem for years now, and you can't force compatability. The only other option would have been to cage him seperately in another room and never allow him to interact with the other birds which would have been cruel IMO.

He's apparently deeply in love with the female he's with. She's not quite sure she wants to mate with him, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time. No fighting, no dangerous biting, and no stress. Thank God.